HandMadeNews.org

Being a member on Artfire is a gateway to other fabulous opportunities, one of them is HandMadeNews.org. It's an online mag published by Artfire, with a constant supply of fresh new articles written up by fellow artisans covering "News of the hand made world, or just the crafts in in".

I've been reading some of the articles over the past week and have found some really interesting, and funny pieces. The handmade crowd is definitely a fun bunch. Then I noticed they were looking for new editors, columnist and contributors. My first reaction was "Oh I'd love to do that, but I would never be good enough to write a column". That was Tuesday night. I had a wrestles sleep that night and woke up feeling an intense pressure to reevaluate my priorities on this matter. I thought about it all day and after hours of giving myself a pep talk, I figured, "what have I got to lose?".

I sent in my application Wednesday night and I have to admit, writing that 250 word sample article was easy as pie and fun once I'd decided on a subject. I've always loved writing, and it's been a not so secret fantasy of mine to be a publish writer ever since I was a little girl. Blogging has been great in that it allows me to self publish all the time and I get immense satisfaction from having my "stuff" posting online.

So once I'd handed in my application I waited, and waited for what seemed like an eternity. While driving my husband to the airport this morning, I asked him how long he thought I should wait before sending them an email to verify if they had even received my application (irrational fear of internet submission failure...) and he said, "Oh wait at least a week". What?!! This is the internet, land of instant transactions, instantaneous Twitter updates and over night celebrities. I couldn't imagine waiting that long.

When I got home a little while ago, I checked my email and noticed a response had come in from HMN. Yesterday!!! How could I have missed it? Turns out all my self doubt and anxious anticipation of possible rejection were all for nothing. They were "very impressed" and would love to have me join their team.

So far my start in business has been great. One week in and I've got a great shop on Artfire that people really seem to like, I have a spot at this years Jost Winery Christmas Open House to sell at their little craft market and now this. Can't wait to find out what other opportunities will come knocking on my door.